Abstract. Multiconjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) employing several deformable mirrors conjugated to different altitudes has been proposed in order to extend the size of the corrected field of view. A three dimensional measurement of the turbulent volume is needed in order to collect the information to control the deformable mirrors. Given a set of guide stars in the field of view, this can be done either using star-oriented or layer-oriented techniques. In the star-oriented measurement each wavefront sensor is coupled to a guide star while in layer-oriented techniques, wavefront sensors are coupled to different layers in the atmosphere and each of them collect light from the whole set of guide stars. This type of measurement is more exactly called optical layer-oriented (OPTLO) as the co-addition of light is done optically. The same information can also be obtained by combining, in a numerical way, star-oriented measurements. This hybrid approach is called numerical layeroriented (NUMLO). In order to compare their performance, we present an analytical study of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the optical and numerical layer-oriented measurements. Optical layer oriented measurements are shown to be more efficient in the regime of faint flux and a large number of guide stars, while low detector noise allows numerical layer-oriented schemes to be more efficient in terms of SNR.
The lOm Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is currently being installed in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on the island of La Palma. An adaptive optics (AO) system will be installed at one of the Nasmyth foci of the telescope within a year of the telescope being commissioned. The preliminary design of the adaptive optics system is presented here. The system will initially be operated in single-conjugate mode using a natural guide star, but provisions are made for upgrade to dual-conjugate operation and the use of laser guide stars. The main system requirements and the optical and mechanical design solutions are outlined here. It is planned to employ a piezo-stack deformable mirror having approximately 350 actuators and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. The tip-tilt correction will be provided by the secondary mirror of the GTC which is a lightweighted Beryllium mirror with a drive system capable of fast tip-tilt and chopping. In preparation for dual-conjugate operation we have studied the optimal altitude ofthe second deformable mirror (the first will be conjugate to the telescope pupil) using numerical simulations and measurements of turbulence obtained at the ORM. We have used the GSC II catalogue to determine sky-coverage for multi-natural guide star wavefront sensing, as required for dual-conjugate operation. In addition we have investigated a novel approach to multiobject wavefront sensing based on curvature sensing.
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 4839 613 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/26/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx Proc. of SPIE Vol. 4839 619 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/26/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.